Indigenous Clay Animal and Dot Painting Frame

Step 1Paint your papier mache frame dark green. Allow to dry. Choose one of the cardboard animals from the pack to use as a feature on your frame and decide where you would like to place it on the frame.
CleverTip: If you want your frame to stand, you will need to place your animal so it doesn’t overhang at the bottom. Otherwise, you can create a hanger for your frame like we did!
Step 2Use dot painting tools with light green and white paint to create a dot pattern on your frame. You can mix white and green together to create different shades of green. Use different sized dot painting tools to achieve different patterns. You can place your chosen cardboard animal on the frame as a guide for where you do not need to paint dots. Allow to dry.
CleverTip: Add a small amount of water to your acrylic paint colours to make them easier to use for dot painting.
Step 3Choose a few colours of super light clay. Roll the clay into small balls about 5mm wide. Press the clay onto your cardboard animal. Create a border then fill in the body to create your desired pattern. You can be as creative as you like! Once your design is filled, set it aside to dry for at least 24 hours.
Step 4Glue your cardboard animal shape to your frame. Allow to dry.
Step 5Your frame can stand on its own, or you can create a hanger if you wish. To create a hanger, cut a 30cm length of jute twine. Generously glue each end onto the back of the frame on the top two corners as shown. Allow to dry completely.
Step 6Add a photo to your frame. Your Indigenous Clay Animal and Dot Painting Frame is now ready to display!